Plant Gardens 101

A weed is an unwanted, nuisance plant and the bane of gardeners everywhere. Whether gardeners like it or not, weeds must be attended to lest they take over the garden. They are fast growing, prolific reproducers and generally can colonise places where nothing else will, or can grow. In nature, there are no weeds, just plants, their role is to rapidly colonise any bare earth. They are in fact, the earths protector. Weeds tend to bring trace elements to the surface that are benefical to other plants after the weeds have gone. But, gardeners, farmers, and councils, don’t like them. For gardeners and farmers, this is easily understood, as these opportunistic plants compete with crops and gardens, for space, sunlight, nutrients and water, also harbouring pests and disease. Councils think they are ugly and untidy – such are the delicate sensibilities of humans in general. At the moment, we will be concentrating on the effects of weeds on gardeners.

Although there are many ways to control or keep out weeds – weeds happen. When weeds do occur in your garden or landscape, although it is always best to get them when they are small or young, we are not always able to do so. Some weeds, given the right conditions, are able to proceed from germination through to reproducing themselves within a week! Luckily, this is not the norm. Generally, weeding is best done by hand. If you are able to get them when young, they can be easily taken care of by chipping with a hoe on a warm day, pricking them out with your fingers, or smothering with a layer of mulch. (more…)

Long before you put a seed in the ground you may have already been set up for a less than bountiful harvest, or even worse no harvest at all. That is because the condition of your soil determines whether or not your vegetable plant will grow and produce.

There are ways to test your soil and of course the means to fix your soil if it need be. Let’s first talk about how you can test your soil.

There four methods you can use. The first is getting your local municipality or state EPA to test your soil conditions. You simply call them up, ask for a soil test kit, follow their instructions and for a fee they will analyze the soil you send them. Some may even send you recommendations on what steps you need to take in order to fix any problems that you may have. These test, depending on where you are in the country can be pricey and you can wait quite awhile as commercial farmers take precedence over the home vegetable gardener. (more…)

A cross between two F1 hybrids. This second-generation cross does not produce consistent or vigorous plants.

Some gardeners hate it – other gardeners, like me, cannot get enough of it. What am I talking about? Moss. Moss is a simple little plant that does not have conventional roots, stems, or leaves. Moss is any species of the class ‘Bryopsida’ and is part of the division ‘Bryophyta’. ‘Bryophyta’ means the first green land plants to develop during the evolutionary process. Moss is thought to have evolved from very primitive vascular plants. Dinosaurs may have munched their way through tons of it and it has been used by gardeners in ancient cities to supply the backdrop to many beautiful gardens, perhaps even in the ‘Hanging Gardens of Babylon’.

It is interesting that moss has not given rise to any other kind of plant.

Because moss does not have the traditional vascular structures of true leaves, stems, and roots, its growth is limited to moist locations. Moss is very hardy and grows almost anywhere, all over the world except under the sea and in the desert sands. Moss normally grows vertically and of little use to humans’ apart from the use in gardening. (more…)

Poppy family
Papaveraceae
Are-jem’o-nee. The prickly poppies are tropical American herbs of perhaps 30 species, one very widely grown.

Description
Stout with yellow juice, the cut leaves more or less toothed and spiny-margined. Flowers large, with 2 or 3 sepals and 4-6 rather showy petals.

How to Grow    (more…)